A collection of reviews of films from off the beaten path; a travel guide for those who love the cinematic world and want more than the mainstream releases.

Friday, June 2, 2017

DWF ’17: Crossing Fences (short)

During
the dark days of the Berlin Wall, the Baltic Sea was a lot like the Florida
Straits. Thousands of liberty-seekers were fished out of the water and
arrested, while over two hundred drowned or were lost at sea. Christine and
Volker Schmidt were fortunate to survive their escape attempt, but they did not
feel very lucky at the time. The harrowing 1974 incident is faithfully dramatized
in Annika Pampel’s short film Crossing
Fences,
which screens during this year’s Dances with Films.

Volker
Schmidt aspired to lead a free life in the West, whereas Christine was determined
to spend her life with him. Although she did not chafe under the Party’s
restrictions of free expression and thought as much as he did, she still risked
everything to join his desperate flight across the Baltic in a makeshift row
boat. Sadly, they will not get very far. Arguably, the guards in the watchtower
are the very model of socialist efficiency, but they are still sufficiently
alert to notice the not so stealthy couple.

Yet,
they may have a comparative stroke of good fortune when it is Captain Harold
who intercepts them. The urbane officer seems to be curious about the thwarted
refugees. In fact, he will even ignore a direct order to summarily execute them
in the water, just so he can take their measure.

For
obvious reasons, most movies about the former GDR have used the Wall as a focal
point. It was indeed a forbidding obstacle and an ominous symbol of oppression.
Films like Night Crossing and The Tunnel recreated real life efforts
to go over or under, but the watery northern border has been largely overlooked
by cinema and television. That alone would make Crossing Fences a valuable short film, but it also happens to be a
potent human drama and remarkably well-crafted period production.

Nina
Rausch and Christian Wolf make a convincingly loving but desperate couple. Yet,
it is Philippe Brenninkmeyer who will really come to personify the film for many
viewers. He is terrific as the commanding Captain Harold, but it is important
to remember such humanistic officers were the exception rather than the rule
under the Communist regime (frankly, it would not be surprising if his real-life
counterpart had been purged shortly after his encounter with the Schmidts).

Crossing
Fences makes recent history come
alive and celebrates the resilient spirit of “ordinary” people like the
Schmidts. It is also frighteningly timely, arriving at a time when Putin is openly
coveting the Baltic nations. Very highly recommended, Crossing Fences screens this Sunday (6/4), as part of Competition Shorts
Block 5, at the 2017 edition of Dances with Films.